With so many accounts breached in the Facebook attack, it’s opened a lot of people’s eyes to the security risk posed by online accounts getting hacked. With that in mind, here’s our security checklist that should be applied to all accounts.
1 Set different password for each account
Don’t let one account getting hacked affect all your other accounts. Instead, make sure you use a separate and strong password for each account.
2 Don’t use single sign-in
Using Facebook or Google to create
accounts on other services quickly may seem a time-saver, but it’s fraught with danger: if your main account is hacked, the hackers will have access to every other service, too. Instead, always create a separate account for each service.
3 Use two-factor authentication
Where possible, turn on two-factor
authentication. This adds an extra level of security to your accounts so that you have to enter an additional one-time code that’s generated by an app or sent via SMS. If your password is compromised, two-factor authentication can save the day.
4 Don’t share private information
Make sure that your social media accounts aren’t giving away your birth date or other sensitive information. This kind of data is often used to verify accounts, so you don’t want to let hackers have easy access to it.
5 React quickly
Think that there’s something going
on, or worried that an account might have been hacked? React quickly and change your password as soon as you can. That way, you can either avoid or reduce the damage caused by a hack.
6 Assume you will be hacked at some point
The Facebook hack shows that we’re all in danger of being hacked, and that strong passwords may not prevent this. Watching out for signs of illegal access to your accounts can really help.
